InQub Ltd offers personal remote KDE desktops on Kubuntu using NoMachine's NX technology for bandwidth savings and connection encryption for a small monthly charge. Each account is comes with 1 GB of home directory storage and is customisable by the respective user. This service represents an interesting approach of working with KDE without installation and maintenance issues, especially for GNU/Linux newbies and users travelling a lot. Users can get a week's free trial of the service.

I prefer to own a computer. Today computers are less expensive, more powerfull, more connected and easier to use. When IPv6 gets to an usable point and broadband hits all homes, there won't be any reason for this services, or perhaps for any services. I would take this more like a toy to play with and as a technology showcase. Anyway, I hope they do well.

True. Some of them are quite nice, like google's calendar. But I still prefer to own my data and I see we are reaching an era were everyone would own some sort of computer. If that computer will be just a browser and a wifi connection is to be seen. But I don't see desktop applications going anywere or web applications replacing what now works fine just because they are cool or are built with the latest web invention (cough, ajax, cough).

It is about the time you spent on tweaks, upgrades, security issues and all that.

I know, firsthand, a lot of people whom are willing to pay good money if paying that, means they are assured to have an Always Working System.
Yes, /you/ know how to keep kubuntu in the air, but good chances your accountant, your boss, or even your mom and dad lack these skills. If all they need to worry about, is to pay some company a few bucks a week/month/year, and get all the applications and features, without all the hassle, sure they will go for that.

So yes, there are very good reasons for this services. They need finetuning (what if I want to mail the pictures on my digital camera... etc) and they need to become more widespread. But they will fill a large gap.

These kind of online storage will help Authoritarian Governments and Businesses to spy on the citizens more easily to control and sell, like they do now with e-mails. they can now read everything you've created, saved on these online disks!

Well, most classified documents of Dutch government institutes (like the police, justice department and federal intelligence) are already available for download via limewire etc, so why not share our information with them as well :o)

Openoffice starts in no time at all. I've a big machine here and still it takes 2 secs to start OO2.

They give you full CLI access, that's great, too

Cosmopod is more something to play around with (it's free, it shows ads, it's slower), but InQubs offer seems to be more for the professional user (clean default KDE desktop, CLI access, seems to run on a very fast machine, all apps start instantly, and you have to pay for it)

Had to generate a new dsa key before connecting to InQub worked (modify the corresponding .nxs file in ~/.nx/config at )

btw.: After trying to use the "Gnome session" option I gave up. The Gnome desktop just crashed on me several times and became unresponsive.

CosmoPOD are the innovators in the space and are leagues ahead of InQubs offering. With InQub, you have to download the NXClient software. CosmoPOD now offers immediate access to your desktop, via a browser plugin. There are also rumours that CosmoPOD is preparing for something really big. I am sticking with CosmoPOD. InQub is merely a copy cat. They will never catch CosmoPOD.